Summer sun and Oranges
by Sayonarasolo
Summary: Roy Walker/OC. Set after the events in the movie, Roy has befriended a fellow patient at the L.A hospital named Eve, who has at the beginning of the story just had an operation to try and fix her curved spine. As time goes on, the bond between the two develops. Basically, a story of two people trying to overcome their illnesses with each others help.
1. Chapter 1

When she was brought back in, she was as pale as the sheets around her, her eyes still squeezed tightly shut. They had laid her on her front for the procedure, and her hands were curled up tightly under her chin. He could see from her stillness that this was the numb sleep that chloroform brings; she never stirred, and her breaths were shallow, slow things. As the night passed however, she began to twitch and stir in her sleep- a sign, Roy knew, that she now slept free from the influence of the drugs. Eventually, as he watched her in the moonlit room, she opened her eyes. They glinted dully in the gloom, not really focussing on anything. After a few slow blinks, they closed again, and she slept once more.

Sunlight was now pouring through the windows, and the shouts and crashes of the front courtyard could be heard through the window, along with the soft footsteps of the nurses and the hushed whisperings of the doctors. Across the room, another patient sat, reading a newspaper, the rustling of the pages the only noise originating from within the room itself. Eve opened her eyes, still lying stiffly on her front. She moved her fingers, which were still clasped under her chin, and sticky with sweat from being clutched together all night in the hazy heat of the summer. Waking up a little more, she looked across at Roy, who was sitting up in his bed, he eyes closed, and his head leant back, as he often sat in the morning.

"Roy?" she said, her voice husky and rough. His eyes opened swiftly, and he sat up a little to look at her.

"Good morning… how are you feeling?" he asked, concern obvious in his eyes.

"Terrible" she replied with a tiny smile. Roy returned it with warmth, only now realising how worried he had been for her about the surgery. However, their conversation was interrupted, as a group of grim faced doctors strode into the wardroom.

"Miss? May we talk to you for a moment?"

"Of course, doctor" she said, and with that they pulled the curtain around her, blocking his view. As Roy turned away from their hushed voices, the nurse came to dress him and to change his bed covers, which meant he was moved into a wheelchair by a orderly. Roy still resented his disability. It made him feel both useless and helpless, and served as a constant reminder of past happenings he would much rather forget. As he waited for the doctors to finish their consultation with Eve, he opened his bedside cupboard, and fished out the drawing Alexandria had given him. He considered it for a while with a wry smile on his face, only putting it away when he heard the swish of the curtain as the doctors left Eve's bedside. As he pulled himself over to sit next to her bed, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, he looked up at her, and saw that tears were falling from her eyes. Grabbing her hand, he looked at her pleadingly, knowing what must have happened, but at the same time hoping he was wrong.

"Eve?"

"It didn't work." She croaked, the tears falling in floods as she refused to look at him. "They couldn't do anything" Roy felt a tear leave his own eye, and brought her hand to his lips.

"I'm so sorry" he murmured, he voice cracking as he said it. He had wanted so badly for this to go well for her.

"It… It was all for nothing" She had begun to tremble now, the pillow soaked through with her tears. Red dots of bloods began to appear and spread down the back of her white hospital gown as her shuddering sobs caused the operation wound to open again. Roy, tears falling, laid his head next to hers on the pillow, holding her hand against his cheek. They were so close their noses were almost touching, and she looked at him with eyes brimming with disappointment and frustration.

"Why did this happen to us Roy? What did we do to end up here?" She said angrily. "I don't know," he murmured in reply." I don't know."

Days passed, but little was said on the ward. Every day Roy sat in his chair next to Eve's bed, holding her hand in his, and they would stay like that for the whole day, lost in their own thoughts. Occasionally Roy would pause to play absentmindedly with her fingers, or her with his, but it wasn't until a week or so later Eve spoke properly to him. It was night again, and Roy was woken by Eve, who was sat up in her bed, the bedside lamp casting a dim yellow light across the room. "What is it?" He said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Will you… I mean can you come over here?" Her face was turned away from the lamp, shadowed, which meant Roy could not see her expression

"Why?" He said cautiously, one hand kneading the back of his neck.

"Its nothing vital, just, will you please?" Somehow Roy managed to wrestle his way into the wheelchair the nurse had left next to his bed, and wearily pulled himself across to her cot.

" What?" He said, still looking at her as he leant over and adjusted the lamp so he could see her face more clearly.

" Will you pull out my stitches for me?"

"Shouldn't the doctor do that?" he said cautiously, leaning his head on one side to look questioningly at her.

" I asked, but they said they wouldn't for another week"

"Well then, you should leave them in" Roy reasoned, taking her hand in his, and wrapping it up in his large palm.

"No. They itch and stop me from sleeping. Please Roy, I promise not to tell them you helped me." Roy looked up at her, considering for a moment, idly intertwining his fingers with hers. Although nothing was yet to be said outright, there was an unspoken affection between them, and she looked at him with real trust in her eyes. "Undo the back of your gown," he said, at last. She turned her back to him and did. For the first time Roy saw the long line of black stitches running down her spine from the top of her neck to the small of her back. The stitches looked angry and red, but the incision itself was obviously healing well. However, it was still so huge a cut that Roy had to suppress a gasp of surprise: he was glad she was turned and could not see his expression. She silently passed him a pair of tweezers, and he gingerly reached up, laying his warm left hand alongside the line of stitches between her shoulder blades, before gently pulling at one protruding knotted end of a stitch with the tweezers in his right hand. Roy could feel her back tense under his fingers as he did so, and as the stitches gradually pulled away from the skin he felt her flinch away from the pain. Releasing the piece of thread to fall to the floor, he moved his hand on her back slightly, adjusted his grip on the tweezers, and set to the long, delicate task of removing the stitches one by one.

As the dim light of morning filled the room Eve still sat up on her bed, her back still bare, but now free of the stitches, which lay scattered on the floor around her. The incision was still closed, and although a couple of the holes from the stitches leaked blood in trails down her back, she felt much better. Roy was asleep in his chair next to her, his head on his chest, and her hand still clutched in his. As she heard the nurses beginning their rounds she gently lay down on her bed, tucked her gown around her to cover her back and turned to face Roy. She looked at him for a while with her grey eyes, before closing them softly and drifting into sleep to the sounds of the hospital waking up around them.

For the next few days Eve gradually recovered from her operation. As the swelling reduced and the pain receded she eventually could stand and take a few small, halting steps, but she still limped from the curved spine that the operation had failed to fix. Roy watched her encouragingly as the nurses helped her hobble from one end of the ward to the other, but it was clear that the pain that came with it was still just as much there as it had been before the operation. She hid it well, too proud and too stubborn to let the pain walking and standing caused her show, but when she sat back onto her bed afterwards she was always paler and looked strained by the effort. As the summer carried on the weather grew hotter, and soon the temperature in the wards was stifling, enough so that the nurses decided to take some of the patients out into the neighbouring orange plantations for the morning and afternoons, although in the heat of the midday sun it was decided best for the patients to stay inside. The nurse would push Roy out in his chair, and Eve would walk more slowly behind, aided by another nurse as she took tentative steps away from the hospital and own the groves. On this particular occasion the nurse decided that it would be okay to leave them by themselves for a while, a little way off from the others, although she told Roy strictly to make sure Eve stayed in the shade of the parasol she gave them. Although Roy and Eve didn't know, they were a subject of much gossip among the nurses, who for nuns had an intense interest in the various relationships about the hospital. In Roy and Eves case there was much speculation about the pair, and constant debate about their possible futures. However, at this moment, and probably to their happy advantage, Roy and Eve were unaware of this. In the bright midday sun Eve stretched out a sheet she had brought with her on the dry grass, and exhausted, sat down on it, leaning the large white parasol on her shoulder. Feeling cheered by the outside air, Roy half lifted himself, half fell, from his chair on to the sheet to sit next to her, and they sat there squinting at each other in the sun. To anyone who walked in on them they would have looked like any normal couple that had stopped in the orange orchard for a picnic. "Would you mind pulling my shoes off?" Roy asked, and Eve did so for him, carefully unlacing them and easing them off, even though she knew Roy couldn't feel his feet and legs. She held the shoes in her lap for a moment, before gently setting them down of the grass next to her. Sighing, Eve let the parasol fall back and tilted her freckled face up to the sun; her wavy brown hair straying out from underneath the straw hat the nurse had forced her to wear. Her dress, which was white with tiny red flowers on it, rippled slightly in the breeze, revealing her long white socks and the schoolgirl-like brown shoes she wore. Roy, looking at her and smiling, gently reached around her and pulled the parasol up to shade her face, which was already going red from the sun. She opened her eyes and frowned as him, before gingerly lying back onto the sheet, holding the parasol high above her so she could still see Roy, who then leant back to lie next to her. Eve then leant the parasol on the ground behind their heads, so they were left in a little private tent of half shade together. Looking up at the patterns embroidered on the parasol that could be seen as the sun shone through the white cotton, she said " Is it true you tell good stories, Roy?"

He turned and looked at her, slightly startled by the question, before taking her hand again and replying with a slow, drawn out "Yes…" He then paused, before adding-"well, at least, I told one once."

"What was it?" He smiled, looking down at the lines of trees they could see from under the edge of the parasol, his long eyelashes brushing his cheeks.

" I'm not going to tell the same story twice."

"Will you tell me a different one then?" She asked, looking across at him again.

"I'll think about it" He replied, looking up to meet her gaze. In his hand he held a daisy he had picked from nearby, and he tucked it behind her ear, his fingers lingering in her hair. Eve grinned at him as he gently tugged at one curl.

"Always so mysterious" She said, before turning her head to gaze up at the white roof of the parasol again. Roy was still preoccupied with her stray curl, tucking it behind her ear and then untucking it again. She looked at his face, as he focussed on her hair, before saying to him "I've never been so happy to be outside in the sun."

Roy's eyes looked up to meet hers, and he said " It's been a long time since I've been outside… and since I've been as happy as I am here- with you." Eve looked back and him seriously, her hand reaching across to touch his forearm. They lay there for a long while, simply looking at each other, the sounds of the hospital children playing and the nurses giggling seeming distant to them, and for a beautiful moment they found they both could forget about their illnesses. It was as though, out here in the sun, they no longer mattered. Eventually, Roy brought his hand up and pulled off Eve's hat, setting it down on his legs before returning his hand to the back of her head, his fingers gently entwining in her hair, his eyes never leaving hers. Carefully, he pulled her head close to his and, closing his eyes, planted a soft kiss on her forehead. She leant against him, wrapping her arm around him and, feeling safer than ever in the soft white light under the parasol, gave a small kiss on the line of his jaw in return. He tucked her head under his chin, while his arms came around to hold her to him, and together they closed their eyes and took a short, restful and content nap, safe in each other's arms for the first time.

The next day, the sun was even hotter. Inside the gloom of the ward a fly buzzed dully against the window as the nurses came to collect Roy and Eve to take them down to the plantations. It was about three o'clock in the afternoon, and the front yard was quiet for once as it was a Sunday. As they made there way through the orange trees, following the bunch of other patients and nurses ahead of them, Eve found she was able to keep up with the nurse pushing Roy's wheelchair for once, although it was tiring walking for everyone in the heat of the sun that day. Eventually the nurse left them, alone together as the day before, but this time with a jug of lemonade and some glasses and the stern warning to remember to drink, and again to Roy to make sure Eve stayed under the parasol. When she had gone Roy, this time with Eve's help, pulled himself out of the chair to sit with her on the sheet. He sat up; leaning with his arms behind him, and looked around them. They were just far enough into the trees that they could not see the hospital, just the long lines of trees, hung with oranges that gleamed like Christmas decorations. Eve, also eyeing the oranges, pulled herself up to stand, and, as Roy watched her with a slightly worried expression, tottered over to the neighbouring tree. She turned to look at him, and, dropping the parasol to the floor, asked "would you like an orange?"

"Technically, I think that counts as stealing" he said wryly, holding his hand up at his brow to shield the sun from his eyes. Eve smiled at him in return.

"Well, would you like one?"

Giving in, Roy replied with a "yes", although he shook his head as he said it. Eve often acted like this, playful and almost childish- especially outside in the summer sun. However, as she reached above her head for the oranges, Roy saw and heard her back click. Eve froze, her fingers curling into a tight fist, the only indication that she was in pain. Panicked, his eyes wide, Roy wished he could go to her, but of course he could not stand. "Eve? Are you okay?" he asked, the worry plain to hear in her voice.

"Yes." was her shaky but determined reply, and slowly, every so slowly, she began to move, bringing her arm back down to her side, and gradually stepping back towards the blanket, keeping her back as straight as possible. Beads of perspiration had appeared on her forehead, and, as she looked at Roy, he could see in her eyes that she too was beginning to panic. Pulling himself closer to where she stood stiffly, he reached his strong arms up to her.

"I'm not sure I can sit," She said quietly.

"Its okay, I've got you" Roy replied, trying to sound encouragingly. Eve was petite, small and short, and as Roy stretched his arms and body up towards her his hands were high enough to reach her waist. "I'll help you"

"Okay" Eve replied, her lashes becoming wet as she bent her legs a little to sit. It was clear all this was causing her great pain. Suddenly she collapsed down into Roy's arms and onto his lap, her back and legs finally giving out under the strain of standing. Her tears were flowing fast now and she tried to hide them by nuzzling into Roy's shirt, but he could still feel the wetness through the fabric, and could feel her tremble against him as he cradled her.

"Shh, its okay now" He said quietly, bringing up his hand to gently touch her back. She flinched away from the slightest touch, indicating just how delicate it had become. This kind of thing had happened often before; just as Eve seemed to be getting better her back would go again and she would come tumbling down. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked, looking down at her. Eve didn't meet his eyes.

"Just… give it a minute or two" Now, as she calmed slightly, it became clear that the tremors weren't only her crying but also her back. A slight shudder was constant in her as the muscles tensed and untensed again, and they sat in silence and felt them together, Eve clutching Roy's shirt front tightly each time a particularly violent one occurred. Gradually however they subsided, until Eve was still in his arms, her breaths less shuddering as she listened to Roy's own slow breathing. After what seemed like an age, she gingerly tilted her head back to look up at him. "Thank you, Roy."

"Its fine. Are you okay?"

"I'm… a little better now. It still hurts but… I'm okay." Roy gave a small sigh of relief, unconsciously tightening his grip on her a little.

"If you sit forward a little I'll rub your shoulders" This was something they did quite often after such an episode, as it left her muscles tightly tensed and knotted. She scooted forward, freeing her back so that Roy could reach it. As his large warm hands came to rest on her shoulders she herself sighed a little, and attempted to untense her back a little herself. Roy paused for a moment, and his hands left her shoulders to grab the discarded parasol, which he then gave to Eve. She wedged it so that her hands were free, and leant back a little into Roy's hands, which were quickly and easily relieving the lingering pain of her back like no-one else's could. When he was done they swapped places, and Eve was surprised to find the usually relaxed Roy also tensed.

"What's wrong?" She asked, as her small hands worked away at his broad shoulders.

"Its nothing. I'm just worried about you. You should be more careful"

"You know how much I hate being told that" Eve said, but he could hear from her voice that she wasn't upset with him. In fact, a small smile was playing on her lips at his concern.

"I know. But I mean it" He turned to look at her, his eyes serious. Eve returned his gaze.

"I know you do." Roy turned around fully, and took Eves hands in his.

"Neither of us are getting better," He said to her, looking back up to meet her eyes.

"No. But neither of us are getting worse either" She said in reply, which gained her a wry smile from Roy. She was always more positive than Roy, who had a tendency to let his situation get him down. Eve knew vaguely from the nurse's gossip that he had once been in a very dark frame of mind, and attempted the unthinkable. Remembering this made her worry, and she leant towards her to catch his eye. " Listen to me Roy. If these terrible things hadn't happened to both of us we never would have met. And although I will never be glad of my predicament, I wouldn't change a thing if it meant losing you." Roy's eyes met hers with surprise, and she continued. "In fact, if the devil came to me now and asked me to choose between good health and you, There is no doubt in my mind what I would choose. It might not be the same for you, but I wanted you to know that… if anything were ever to happen to you… I'm not sure I would survive it." Roy's eyes still met her unwavering gaze, and he reached up slowly to cup her face in his hand.

"I feel the same. And I promise that… as far as I can control, nothing will happen to me"

It was now nighttime, and the only noise in the hospital was the sound of the rain falling outside, the drips and drops as it rolled off the roof sounding almost like murmuring voices in the otherwise still night. Roy twitched a little in his sleep, his fingers curling and uncurling against the sheets, before, sensing that something wasn't quite right; he opened his eyes in the gloom. He looked around, seeing the sleeping forms of his roommates under their covers. All were there except for Eve- her bed lay empty, the sheets twisted as though she had been sleeping uneasily. Sitting up in his cot, Roy deliberated for a moment before pulling the wheelchair to him. As he eased himself out of the bed and into the chair he paused for a moment, thinking that he heard voices outside of the room. After a moment sitting with his head cocked he could hear no further noise except from the pitter-patter of the rain, and so he moved across the room and edged through to the doorway. There he could see Eve leaning on the doorframe, facing the sheet of rainwater that fell in front of her. The night was humid, and the light of the stars and moon was bright, casting a silvery glow over the rows of orange trees. Stopping there, Roy observed her as she stood, unaware of his presence, gazing across the plantation she'd come to know the past few weeks. Eventually however she felt his eyes on her, and turned to look at him, a sad smile on her face. He returned it, his expression pensive in the dim moonlight. He opened his arms invitingly, and Eve turned away from the doorway and came to sit sideways across his lap, her head resting on his chest as he absentmindedly stroked her hair, still gazing across the dark plantation.

"Something wrong?" he asked quietly.

"No, just…missing home I guess… Although I kind of like it here now too." Eve sounded a little confused. She didn't live all that far from here, but she felt disconnected from the outside world here. However, she also felt safe here, and more importantly, Roy was here with her.

"I miss home too, sometimes" said Roy. "Eve?"

"Yes Roy?"

"Yesterday evening the doctor came to speak to me about a X-ray I had yesterday" The hesitancy in Roy's voice made Eve pull away slightly to look at him. He looked down to meet her questioning gaze.

"What did they say?" Roy paused and turned his head away.

"They said… there are signs of, well… They said I might be getting better. They're coming to do some more tests in the morning." After he had said all of this, he finally turned his eyes back to meet hers, startled to find her on the verge of tears. "Eve?"

"Oh my… Roy… I'm so happy" A grin broke out on her face as the tears began to fall in earnest. She reached up to cup his face in her small hands, and felt a small tear fall from his eyes. "Can you feel your legs again yet?"

"Just about. At least, I can sort of feel you sitting on them." Roy said shakily. Suddenly however he realised what this must be like for Eve- hearing his good news when she had none for herself. He put his hands on her shoulders, leaning back a little. "I'm sorry Eve"

"For what?" she said, not understanding.

"For getting better when you're not, especially after everything you said yesterday. I wish I could swap places so you could get better instead" It all came out in a rush, and Eve just carried on smiling up at him.

"There's no reason to be sorry! I'm just so happy for you. Will you…be able to walk again?" she wiped her eyes a little, still looking up at Roy.

"The Doctor said that I'll probably make a full recovery. He said that it was only the swelling as I healed that was causing it, and that's going down, and the bones' healing too." He paused again, his hand resting on the back of her neck now. "So… yes, I'll walk again." Eve shook her head in disbelief, watching happily as a crooked smile broke across Roy's face as he finally seemed to realise that he was going to stand again. She buried her face in his shirtfront again, and when he pulled her closer she felt him chuckle quietly into the night, wondering at this new miracle.

The next day Roy waited nervously for the doctors, Eve sitting next to him anxiously. When they came they asked her to return to her bed, but they did so with a friendly smile; she was becoming a fast favourite among all at the hospital, and Roy gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as she turned to limp back to her cot. She watched as they poked and prodded his back, and felt her mouth drop with amazement when one of them poked Roy's toe with a pin and it twitched away. A tiny movement, but any movement was amazing after the month he'd spent totally immobile from the hips down. She watched Roy's face with joy as she saw her amazement reflected in him- he stared at the toe in question, eyes filled with disbelief. He had been so sure he was paralysed for life they continued on testing and prodding, and as Roy felt more and more he looked across to Eve, a fresh smile being shared between the happy pair. The doctors finally allowed Eve over while they continued deliberating and discussing, all seeming amazed by this recovery. Eve meanwhile simply fell into Roy's arms, laughing with happiness, after a moment however he pushed her away a little, his hands on her shoulders. "Look!" he exclaimed, turning her around to look down the bed. There, she saw as he slowly wriggled his toes at her. She turned back to him, fresh happy tears falling. They both laughed happily and hugged again, their muffled laughter sounding odd and out of place on the usually quiet ward. The doctors hearing this paused on their way out of the room, and turned to see the pair laughing away like schoolchildren. The head doctor smiled, and called across the room-

"Roy Walker, I expect to see you out of that bed by tomorrow!"

"Yes sir!" He replied over Eve's shoulder, before he pulled back and then lifted her up to sit beside him on the bed. Eve leant against his shoulder happily as he leant over and gave her his morning coffee. He began to shuffle a battered old pack of cards, still smiling happily, and she settled further into the bed, warming her hands on the coffee cup as he dealt her cards. The sun was streaming through the windows once more, and the nurses gave the pair extra smiles as they walked by on their rounds, as did the other patients in the ward- everyone was cheered by their good news.

That day when they took the pilgrimage to the orange trees Eve walked with a little more of a spring in her step, and for once Roy broke his usual reserved silence and chatted away with the nurse pushing him. His good mood was infectious, and the group of patients were a happier group than normal as they walked between the orange trees. When they reached their usual spot Eve found she had forgotten the blanket she normally brought to sit on, but Roy took off his jacket and she sat on that. He pulled himself down to sit on the grass next to her, and, smiling mischievously Eve scooted round to his feet, yet again leaving the parasol she was supposed to be under on the dry grass. Sighing, Roy picked it up and held it up so she was in the shade again, and watched as she prized off his shoes. Looking up at him devilishly, she stroked one finger down the sole of his left foot, which, as with any normal person, tickled and caused his leg to twitch away a little. They smiled at each other again, and for a while Eve simply played with his feet, marvelling at the new movement that had never been there before, as she'd known Roy. He wriggled his toes a little at her again, before reaching towards her.

"Come on now" She stopped pestering him, and came up to sit next to him under the parasol on his jacket. The heat was sweltering, and Eve pulled off the straw hat that was squashing her hair to her head. She pulled out her hairpins and messed her hair up a little with her hand, glad to have the breeze cool her. Roy leant over and further mussed her hair, with lead to her messing up his in return, although it was constantly dishevelled anyway. Eventually, giggling under the parasol, they leant back together, Eve resting her head on Roy's broad shoulder.

"Will you tell me that story now?" She asked, sounding drowsy in the summer heat.

"What kind of story do you like?" He asked, lazily undoing the top few buttons of his shirt to let the breeze cool under his shirt in the sweltering heat. Fiddling over them Eve undid the rest of them absentmindedly, thinking about what kind of story she wanted. She moved her hand to rest under his shirt on his now cool chest, before replying.

"I think I want a love story. Set a long time ago"

"Not princesses and knights and Dragons?" he said teasingly, bringing his hand up to rest on top of hers under his shirt. Eve could feel his slow, steady heartbeat under her hand.

"No! I want one with an Evil king."

"An evil king?" Roy said, frowning.

"Yes. But he's not really evil. He's just sad because of something he lost."

"Yeah?"

"Mmm."

"Okay. Well, close your eyes." Eve did so, growing ever more sleepy in the suns warmth. "Now, I want you to imagine a palace."

"What kind of a palace?"

"A huge one, covered in battlements and towers"

"Yes? Go on." Roy spoke for what seemed like hours, winding an intricate tale of love lost and love found, all full of fairytale and magic and quests and prophecy. Eve lost herself in the smooth sound of his voice, only speaking up occasionally to query something or to change a bit of the plot she didn't like. Gradually however her questions became father and father apart, until Roy could feel her breathing slowing as she fell asleep in his arms. He trailed off, watching her fingers twitch as she carried on the tale in her dreams. It was nearing dusk in the orange grove, the sun near to the horizon. Thoughtful, Roy wriggled his toes once more, smiling a little at the sight. Tentatively he found he could move his ankles a little, and he did so for a while, testing the new found sensation of the grass under his toes, his ability to movie and feel improving all the time. However, when the nurse came to bring them back up to the hospital she found them both asleep, and stood, smiling down happily at the pair for a moment, before gently leaning down to shake Roy a little by the shoulder. He opened his eyes blearily, woke up the tired Eve, before the nurse and her then helped him back to his chair and they set off back to the ward for the night, the setting sun behind them as they made there way back.


	2. Chapter 2

The following morning Eve sat fidgeting in her chair, waiting for Roy to wake up. He slept with a slight frown on his face, and she watched with silent delight as she saw his feet twitching slightly under the covers. She was the first up on the ward, aside from the nurses who cleaned quietly around the silent patients. Eve watched as the hospital came alive, seeing the orange pickers going out into the fields and hearing the children stirring in the ward above. She smiled down at the cup of coffee a nurse had silently handed to her, the reassuring smile a sign that she knew why Eve was up so early. Restless, she brushed her hair and tidied around her bed a little, sitting on the floor to reorganise the few belongings she kept in the cupboard next to her bed. Eventually, with another hour or so to go before there was any real possibility of Roy waking up (he was always a late riser) she asked one nurse if it would be okay for her to go and help make his breakfast, and then when she was allowed to made the nurse promise to keep an eye on Roy and send for her if he woke. Away in the relative bustle of the kitchen, she kept herself busy toasting bread, preparing coffee the way Roy liked and half drinking a cup of orange juice herself as she did so. She had butterflies fluttering in her stomach, and the nurses eventually sent her to check if the ice cart was on its way just to stop her from fidgeting about in the kitchen. Eventually however she returned to the ward, and sat again, holding Roy's breakfast tray in her lap as she twitched about sitting on her bed and then on her chair and then on the chair next to his bed. She stared at his closed lids for what felt like hours, willing him to wake up, earning more amused glances from the nurses and patients. The sun rose higher to stream through the windows in earnest, but it wasn't for another 45 minutes or so that Roy finally woke up. Eve was resting her head next to his on the pillow, so he woke up to find her face inches from his. Although at first startled, he relaxed back against the pillows and smiled at her. "How long have you been sitting there?"

"An age" she replied, and a nurse seeing Roy awake smiled and called across-

"That girl's been waiting for you to wake up since before the sun rose." Roy sat up a bit, leaning on his arm and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Is that true?" He said, looking down at the breakfast tray she placed on his lap bemusedly.

"Just eat" She replied, and he smiled, knowing then that what the nurse had said was true.

"You could have just woken me up you know. I wouldn't have minded." He ripped a piece of bread off the roll he was eating before offering her the rest. She shook her head.

"You needed your sleep. How're you feeling?" Roy looked at her again.

"I feel fine. You look like you're about to sit an exam. Eve, are you okay?"

"Yes" She said to quickly. He looked at her, clearly not believing that. "Its just. It's a big day. I'm all jittery about it." He looked at her again from under his eyelashes. "Fine. I'm worried."

"About what?"

"I'm worried that you…won't be able to do it or it'll be too painful and you'll get sad again, or you'll fall and hurt yourself, or that the doctors are wrong, I'm worried that…" She paused, unable to meet his eyes. "I'm worried that you'll get better and leave me here and forget about me." Surprised, Roy frowned at her.

"Why on earth would you think that?"

"Because…" She couldn't find a good reason. Roy was a good and loyal friend, and she knew he cared about her as much as she did about him. He shook his head, and, putting his breakfast to the side, pulled her to him.

"I'm not going to leave you here just because I can walk again. And even if I was running marathons I wouldn't able to forget you. Don't worry." Eve twisted to look up at him, seeing the truth in his eyes.

"I know. I'm sorry for doubting you." She lay back against him.

"Silly girl." Roy said affectionately. They sat like that for a while, before the doctors came in, and Eve grudgingly moved to the chair next to Roy's cot. She watched with a furrowed brow as the doctors talked amongst themselves and to Roy, and her breath caught as she watched them help him swing his legs around to the side of the bed. His feet gingerly touched the cold hospital tiles, before pressing more firmly down into the floor. With a doctor on each arm supporting his weight and warning him to take it slowly, Roy slowly, but surely, began to rise from the hospital cot. He was unsteady, and swayed a little on his feet, but sure enough, he was standing again. Roy's eyes met Eve's and a smile of pure joy broke out on his face. He was pale and looked a little dizzy- it had been a good while since he had stood, but as the doctors slowly released his arms Roy found he could stand unaided. He looked down at his feet in amazement, barely feeling the doctor's hand at his elbow, warning him not to run before he could walk. He looked up again, and Eve, seeing the determination in his eyes, stood too. Cautiously, leaning heavily on one doctor, Roy took one halting step away from his bed, and then another, and then another. Eventually, with an immense effort as his muscles, stiff from disuse, cramped and pulled, Roy made it to the chair next to Eves bed, taking the last step holding on to her arm rather than the doctors. Exhausted he collapsed into the chair, looking up with delight in his eyes at the tearful Eve, who still gripped his hand tight. His broad grin made her smile so much her cheeks hurt, and as the doctors told him sternly to take it easy for the rest of the day they looked happily at each other.

That day, when the nurse left them together in the orange groves, Roy didn't fall from his chair to sit next to her. Instead, leaning a little on her for support, he stood up from the chair, winding his toes into the dry grass. Eve looked up at the tall man standing next to her, unused to and surprised by his height. He beamed down at her, and, another chuckle escaping his lips pulled her to him and into a proper hug. They stood like that for a few seconds before Eve pulled him down to sit. She knew he shouldn't be standing too much yet- he still had a long way to go. Today though, as he sat next to her with his legs bent into a normal, comfortable sitting position, he looked so well he could have been totally recovered. As their initial chatter died down however, Eve let her thoughts drift into less happy areas. What would happen when he left the hospital? She didn't know if she could go with him. And it was possible she supposed that he wouldn't be as eager to spend time with her when he could run around and she couldn't. Eve didn't want him to have to be constantly worrying and helping her- she didn't want to restrict him in that way. The one hundred meters into the grove from the hospital was about the furthest she could walk without a break. Roy, seeing her begin to frown again, put his fingers under her chin and lifted her head to look at him. "What is it now?"

"It's nothing," she said, shaking her head to clear those gloomy thoughts.

"Do you want me to carry on the story?"

"Yes" she leant in to his shoulder, twirling the parasol above their heads.

"Where were we?" Roy continued the tale, but this time it was happier, and he finished it with the good people living happily ever after and the bad imprisoned forever. When it was over, Roy leant to kiss her forehead, before asking again "What's wrong?" Eve sighed and stood, moving to stand before a nearby tree. She started to reach up for an orange, but paused and opted for a lower, smaller one instead. Turning back to face Roy she played with the fruit in her palm.

"Do we… have a happy ending, Roy?" She looked up at him again, her eyes pleading.

"That's for you to decide." He beckoned to her, but she didn't come any closer, instead just sitting on the grass where she had been standing. She began to peel the orange.

"I hope we do," She said quietly, eating a small piece of the fresh orange.

"So do I" said Roy, and she smiled weakly before throwing him a piece of the orange. Seeking to change the subject, Roy carefully moved closer to her before saying "I spoke to one of the nurses today." He bit off a piece of the orange segment.

"What about?"

"I asked her to take a note to Alexandria."

"Who?"

"She's the little girl who…I knew when I first came here. She went home before you arrived."

"And what did you write to her about?"

"I just wrote that I'd like her to come and visit" Roy seemed lost in his own thought, playing with the small piece of orange he still held. "She's…she's the reason I'm still…here today." He looked across at Eve suddenly, his eyes pleading with her to just understand and not ask him to explain. She did, and she nodded at him.

"I'd like to meet her" Roy smiled at the idea.

"Of course you can." They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, before Roy looked up and saw the nurse walking through the groves towards them.

"Not asleep this time?" She said, smiling down at them, before together she and eve helped Roy up from the ground. As they walked back the two women chatted and laughed, and Roy sat smiling as he listened to them. They stopped about half way along the row for the nurse to rest her arms, and Roy leant from his chair to pick a few of the tall daisies that grew alongside the orange trees. In the dusk the scent of the oranges was heavy in the air, and in the darkening sky a few pinpricks of stars could be seen. Leaning back wearily on the arm of the wheelchair, Eve looked up at the emerging night sky. Her back ached from the short walk, and she wiped her brow with the back of the hand in the humid evening. Suddenly she felt Roy's hands winding around her waist, and he pulled her onto his lap. Holding her to him with one arm, the daisies held in that hand, the other hand rubbing her sore back, Roy held her close. The nurse, sensing that they weren't quite ready to go in yet, left them alone together in the twilight, the two of the forming an odd silhouette in the fiery light of the setting sun. Eve could feel her eyelids drooping, and Roy sat with his eyes shut as he continued to stroke her back along the ridge that was her spine. He could feel the twist in it that caused her so much pain, and was especially careful around it. His warm hands on her back made her feel happy and safe, especially as the night chill began to set in. Eventually she grudgingly stirred and went to stand, thinking that they probably shouldn't keep the nurse waiting, but Roy's hands stopped her. He was looking at her through half closed eyes, his hands a little possessive as they held her waist, but Eve didn't mind. He made her feel safe, and she leant back to him, willing to let him hold her for as long as he wanted. Sometimes she wanted to be held, so she reasoned that sometimes he wanted to hold. She was right, and as Roy held her familiar form in his arms he too felt content and happy. Too soon though the nurse came back, signalling the need to go with a quiet "ahem". As Roy reluctantly let his hands slide from her waist, Eve stood, nearly sleeping on her feet. Roy reached up to hold her hand, and they went back to the ward like that. As they eased themselves into their respective beds, the nurse fussing over them both, they both drifted off to sleep, worn out from a day of highs and lows and thoughts of the future and past.

When Eve woke- unusually late, the next day, the curtains around Roy's bed were pulled tightly shut, as they had often been when she'd first arrived on the ward. She could hear whispering from inside, and when she sat up on her bed and it gave its usual creak, a small face peered out from between the curtains to stare at her briefly, before disappearing back inside. There was another bout of whispering, and Eve could hear Roy's returning murmurs. He pulled back the curtain a little, and, smiling, said "Come on over." Eve, curious, stepped across the floor and poked her head around the curtain. In the white tent the curtain formed she found a small Romanian girl, sitting snuggled on Roy's lap, turning an orange over and over in her palm-it looked ridiculously large in her tiny hands.

"Alexandria, meet Eve" said Roy, smiling down at the small child, who looked up at her briefly before mumbling something and turning back to her orange.

"Now, Alexandria don't be shy" said Roy encouragingly, but for now the little girl stayed quiet. "I'm sorry, she's not usually so shy and retiring" said Roy with affection. Eve was about to reply when Alexandria piped up, her strongly accented voice loud in the wardroom.

"Do you have a locket?" At first Eve didn't understand her

"What did you say? She asked, leaning forward a little.

"I said, I said do you have a locket?" Eve looked at Roy, who simply smiled.

"No, I don't have a locket." she said haltingly.

"Good" came the somewhat haughty reply, and Eve sensed that she had passed some sort of test. To Alexandria, sitting across Roy's lap, the girl next to Roy seemed nice enough, quietly pretty in a way that the girl in the story and in the flicker hadn't been. She cocked her head on her side to look at the pair, and decided that it was okay for this girl to be friends with her Roy. This established, she reached to tug at the thin bracelet on the girl's wrist, her curiosity winning out. Eve slid the bracelet over her hand and gave it to Alexandria, who slid it onto her own wrist admiringly. They stayed there for a while, the three of them in their own secluded world behind the curtain, Roy and Alexandria doing most of the talking, going over the story they had shared together not so long ago. Roy looked at her with fondness clear to see in his eyes, and when the time came for her to leave he looked truly sad to see her go. Pulling her into his arms, he said to her

"Let me show you something," pulling aside the curtain. One hand on Eve's shoulder for support he carefully stood, holding the young girl tight against his chest. "See Alexandria, I can stand."

"You can! Can you feel your toes too?" came the excited reply.

"Yes" he said, laughing as he set her down on a chair. She jumped down and squatted on the floor near his feet. Prodding a toe, she looked up at him eagerly

"Can you feel that? No, no looking." Smiling, Roy looked away, and as her little fingers poked away he told her which toe she was prodding. Alexandria it seemed would never tire of this game, but her mother called to her from the doorway so the pair had to bid each other goodbye for the second time. Roy watched her go, still leaning on Eve's shoulder a little for balance as he stood. Eve took his hand, expecting him to sit, but instead Roy made his way, with Eve at his side, to the doorway. He waved to Alexandria as she left, winding an arm around Eve's shoulders as he watched her go. After a few moments Eve spoke up.

"She's a sweet girl."

"The sweetest" Roy said, a tinge of sadness in his voice. Eve delicately leant against him, careful to not put her whole weight on him, but Roy pulled her close to him for a minute, thinking about Alexandria and their story. The doctor, who was making his way to see him and Eve, called across the yard, interrupting his thoughts-

"Back to bed Mr walker, and you too Miss Eve, before you do yourselves an injury!" The pair hobbled back to their beds, and the doctor spoke to them both for a time, before sending a nurse for a pair of crutches for Roy. When she returned with a pair the doctor instructed Roy on how to use them, told him once more not to "over do it" and that "slow and steady wins the race" before finally taking his leave of them. Roy found he could move very well on the crutches, his arms as strong as they'd ever been, and so asked the nurse to take the wheelchair away. Filled with new energy, and his dazzling smile lending a helping hand, he managed to convince a nurse to help him take a couple of chairs just outside for him and Eve and, pulling them as close together as they would possibly go, the pair sat in them, dozing in the near shade together, Roy's hand resting on Eves shoulder as she leant on his. As the nurses passed them on their rounds they smiled and giggled at the pair, who looked like (they thought) a couple of old pensioners sitting together after a long, eventful life.

That afternoon Eve and Roy could walk to their patch of the orange grove by themselves, Roy matching his pace on the crutches with Eve's slow tread. On the way however Roy stumbled as one crutch stuck in a hole under the grass, and he tumbled down to the floor. Eve fell to his side panic stricken- "Roy? Roy are you alright?" her worries however dissipated instantly as she heard him laughing, and as he sat up and dusted himself off she let out a sigh of relief, ruffling his hair before passing his crutches to him so he could stand. "You had me terrified for a moment there! You should be more careful." Roy smiled down at her.

"You're beginning to sound like me, don't you think?"

"Oh shut up!" Eve punched his arm playfully, and they made their way down the orange trees together, laughing and joking as they walked together.


	3. Chapter 3

For the next few days Roy practised his walking, growing stronger it seemed with each step he took. He was determined to be every ounce the able bodied man he was before, and he was constantly up and about. On their afternoon walks down the plantation they would walker father than they had in the past, although Eve still needed quite frequent breaks. They would sit down the furthest edge of the plantations, looking up the rows of the orange trees towards the hospital as they talked. Eve's condition improved a little too, with a new type of pain medication they doctors tried out on her. However, she still had bad days occasionally, and Roy kept her company on these, sitting next to her hospital cot, his chatter and storytelling keeping her mind off things while his strong hands rubbing her shoulders and back numbed the physical pain. A new doctor arrived at the hospital that week. He was short and fat, in his mid thirties, and of the most hideous character. At first the nurses enjoyed his constant flattery, but as his comments became more vulgar they began to avoid him, as did most of the hospital staff. Eve however, was unfortunately one of the patients under his care. The first day he approached her she was sitting with Roy, and his warning stare kept the man reasonably polite and courteous. It was obvious though that he eyed Eve with ungentlemanly appreciation, his gaze never meeting her eyes, just staring at her body. Still, no one in the hospital considered him any real threat. However, the following day events took a more dramatic turn. The doctor returned to the ward early in the morning, before Roy or Eve had woken up, scuttling across the room almost silently. He drew the curtains around Eve's bed so she wouldn't see that it was a suspiciously early time. The man then shook her by the shoulder. Eve woke sleepily, saying "Roy?" before she opened her eyes to find the disgusting little man leaning over her. Sitting up quickly, she tried to put herself as far away from him as possible on the little hospital cot.

"Good morning. Miss Eve, is it?"

"Yes..." She said cautiously, pulling the sheets up around her.

"I've come to have a look at your back. Just a routine check up you understand, nothing to worry about." He moved around to the side of the bed she's was on, and proceeded to pull clumsily at the back of her nightgown.

"Excuse me?" Said Eve, attempting to bat his hands away.

"Now now, don'ts lets be silly about this." He said, a crude smile on his face as he put a hand on her waist. Disgusted, Eve slapped the hand away, but the doctor just put it back, ignored her protests and continued to fumble with her gown. As Eve struggled away from him she called out-

"Roy? Roy!" She heard him quickly get out of bed, and in mere seconds he was pulling back the curtains and pushing the doctor away from Eve, in his anger flinging the man halfway across the room. He then stood in front of her protectively, in such a way that he totally blocked the man from even seeing Eve.

"Don't you dare touch her again." Roy said furiously, his hand reaching behind him to hold Eves. She could feel him trembling a little with rage, and squeezed his hand to show that she was okay. Meanwhile the short man had gone bright red with anger, and advanced towards Roy.

"Who do you thing you are? You've got no right to tell me what to do. In fact-" He gave Roy a shove, which in his still weakened state caused him to take a step back. "I don't care what you think. I'm a doctor you know, and I can slip you some sleeping pills if I have to." Regaining his balance, Roy stepped up to the doctor again, dropping Eve's hand.

"Perhaps you were a doctor, but I doubt you are now" The ugly little man follows his gaze to the group of nurses and senior doctors who now stood in the doorway, attracted by the loud words. A couple of them came and took the man away, ignoring his protests and apologising profusely to Eve and assuring Roy the doctor would be escorted off the land and to the police. Roy however was still angry, and worried about Eve, and everyone else had gone he fussed over her, asking her repeatedly if she was really okay. Eve reassured him over and over again, but Roy still kept her near, watching all who approached her with a calculating gaze. The male patients and doctors gave Eve a wide berth for the remainder of the day, Roy's whole stance warding them off as he kept his arm around her protectively.

A week or so on Eve was returning from an X-ray, walking slowly down the corridors with a nurses helping hand at her elbow, when the nurse paused and spoke to someone. The nurse's hand was then replaced with the large, warm hand of a man at her arm. Surprised, she turned to find Roy standing next her, unaccompanied by any nurse and without his crutches. He just smiled at her, before pulling her to carry on walking down the sunlit corridor. Eve leant on his arm as they walked, a look of amazement on her face as she saw him striding, smoothly and normally down the corridor, as if he'd always been able to. Pausing and stepping away from him, she took a moment to look at the transformed man before her. He stood tall, with a straight back, broad shouldered and strong looking. If it wasn't for Roy's familiar face beaming down at her she might have had trouble recognising him at all. He led her out onto the veranda and sat on the bench there, patting the space next to him for her to sit down. Shivering in the chilly morning air, Eve did so, still looking at him speechlessly. "I. I have no idea what to say"

"You don't need to say anything," said Roy, pulling her closer to lean on his shoulder, and wrapping a warm arm around her. She picked up his free hand, and curled his fingers around her own.

"What did the doctors say?"

"They say it's a miracle. As far as they can tell, I'm going to be fine." Eve wanted to ask him how much longer he was going to be here at the hospital, but not wanting to ruin the mood, kept quiet. However Roy, who had come to know Eve better than even she knew, knew she'd been worried about the prospect of him leaving, so said after a moments pause- "Just a few more tests, and I'll be discharged in a few days." Eve still refused to look at him. "Look, I'm not going to leave you here Eve" said Roy, leaning forward and trying to meet her gaze. "I'm not going to stop being here for you just because I'm able to be somewhere else."

"I know, I know. I just don't want to hold your back."  
"You think you hold me back?" Roy asked, his eyebrows raised. Eve stood and went to lean against the pole supporting the balcony above.  
"It's just... I can't walk very far, I'm so pathetically delicate I can barely be left by myself, and when I have a bad day... I don't want you to have to spend all your time worrying and fussing over me, and unable to do things because my needs get in the way" Still sitting on the bench, Roy looked exasperated, shaking his head a little. A look of determination coming into his eyes, he too stood.

"Eve?"

"Yes?" Eve turned, only to find Roy's lips suddenly pressed against hers. At first she froze, but as his hands came up to hold her face, his thumbs stroking gently along her cheekbones, she leant into him, her hands tentatively coming up to rest on his chest. When the kiss was over, Roy leant his forehead on hers, their noses touching as they stood together, eyes closed, savouring the moment  
"Now do you believe me?" Roy murmured to her.  
"Yes" she said, if a little shakily. Roy gave an almost smug smile at that before leant back from Eve a little, his hands dropping to cover hers on his chest. He looked at her closely, trying to memorize every tiny detail of her face, from the grey-blue eyes and the freckles that dotted her nose, to the slight rosy blush that he had induced in her cheeks. Eve smiled back up at him, curling her fingers under his. The fact that they hadn't said those three words yet didn't seem to matter-they didn't really need them-each knew how much the other cared. Nevertheless, this had been their first proper kiss, and it somehow seemed to validate their relationship. Winding his arm around Eve's slender shoulders, smiling as he felt her nuzzle against him and wind her own arm around his waist, Roy leant his head on hers. They walked off together, reassured from the kiss that signified the start of a new stage in their courtship.

That night Eve couldn't sleep. It was hot again, without even the slightest breeze to relieve the humidity in the wardroom. She twisted and turned in her bed, the bed sheets seeming heavy, making her feel trapped. Eventually she threw them back completely with a sigh, expecting to be awake until the sun rose. But the silence of the night was then broken by a familiar voice. "Can't sleep?" Roy asked quietly. Eve started; unaware that he was also awake- he was lying on his side, his head laid on his hands as he looked across at her. Eve turned to mirror his position.

"No." Roy sat up, buttoning up his nightshirt before standing up. He extended a hand out to Eve, and she took it and let him pull her up out of bed. Putting his finger to his lips, he led her from the room, easing the door open quietly. The nurse sitting up for the nightshift pretended to be asleep in her chair, letting the two sneak out to the orchard together, with no little amount of thought spent on how she could gossip about this new development in the morning. News of the pair's kiss in the courtyard had spread through the wards, their blossoming love story a fast favourite with everyone in the hospital, even with the little girls on the children's ward, who would watch Eve enviously when she and Roy were walking about the orange plantations in the afternoon- among them Roy was considered some kind of fairytale prince. Of course though, as Roy led her down the rows of orange trees, the pair were unaware of this, thinking only of each other. Outside it was warm enough still that Eve didn't miss her cardigan, and the dewy cold grass was soft against their feet. While the moon shone down on them Roy still led her further and further down through the orange trees, where kerosene burners produced circles of yellow light among the trees- although the night was hot now, in the early morning it would grow cold, enough so to damage the fruit, so the burners were lit to stop the fruit from being damaged by the chill. Eventually Roy came to a stop just outside of the light of one burner, and, unfolding the blanket he had been carrying, spread it on the floor. Before he could pull Eve down to sit, he felt her tug at his sleeve, and he turned to find her looking up to him with an odd look in her eyes. Slowly she put her arms up around his neck, before, standing on her very tiptoes, she reached up and kissed him. Instantly his arms were winding around her, one around her waist and one hand between her shoulders as he pulled her close. When she finally broke away he carried on holding her, looking at her with a thoughtful gaze. After a moment he leant his head back down to her and pressed a tender kiss half on and half off her lips, surprising her as his hands gripped her more tightly and he swung her up into his strong arms, the long skirt of her nightdress trailing, before he gently sat down with Eve on his lap onto the stretched out blanket. They sat in silence for a moment, Roy's hand falling down to Eves hip, where his thumb stroked slow patterns. The orange light that the distant kerosene burner gave lit their faces, Eve's a little flushed. Her hands were curled on Roy's chest again, and once more she undid his shirt buttons and rested them and her head on his bare skin, listening to his steady heartbeat, the only other sound the quiet keening of a few cicadas in the distance. Roy moved his hand to her arm, and when she looked up at him gave her a crooked smile.

"I had a dream last night" He said, still smiling down at her.

"What about?" Said Eve, sitting up a little in his lap to get a better look at him.

"You." He reached his hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear. "I dreamt that we were living in a house together…"

"Go on" she said, intrigued.

" It was a beautiful house, and we were standing in the front garden together. You were wearing a dress."

"A dress?"

"A pretty one, all white and flowing. Your hair was down like it is now, and I kissed you."

"You did?"

"Yes" He said, his smile growing even wider. "Like this." and he pressed his lips to hers, holding the kiss for a few long seconds.

"Go on" said Eve, blushing profusely. Roy stroked her hot cheeks with one finger, smiling mischievously.

"There were flowers growing, and orange trees in the back garden, like the ones here but younger," He said. "And…" His eyes met hers, suddenly a little more serious. "There were children playing under those trees." Eve was silent in his lap, and for a moment he was worried she was upset, but when she looked back up at him she was smiling like she had won the lottery.

"Tell me more." She said, tearing up a little.

"Well, the house was painted white, with a red door, and there was a blue car on the driveway." He caught a happy tear from Eve's cheek with his fingertip. "It was the best dream I've ever had" Eve buried her head in his shoulder, a small choked laugh of delight escaping her lips, and Roy gave a small chuckle in return as he buried his face in her hair. They sat like that for a while, before Roy pulled away and took her hands in his. A faint breeze rustled through the trees, opening his shirt further. He looked at her small hands for a while, before looking up and meeting her eyes. "I love you" He said, his gaze steady.

"And I love you." replied Eve, before Roy's lips came crashing down on hers and they tumbled back onto the grass together, laughing happily under the stars.


End file.
